Corn-harvester.



Eatefited July 15, 1913.

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B. T. COX.

CORN HARVESTER. 7 APPLICATION FILED 00124, 1911.

wi tmmoeo I i i E. T. COX. CORN HARVESTER. APPLIOATION HLEp 001. 4, 1911,

Patented July 15, 1913. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. T. COX. CORN 'HARVESTER. APPLIOATION FILED d014, 1911.

Patented July 15, 1913 4 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

llllllll lllll llllll 1 E. T. COX. com HARVBSTER.

I APPLICATION FILED 0014, 1911. 1,067,644, Patented July 15, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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.the truck of the machine with a movably without material efforton the UNITED stra'rns as oraiaoa.

EMMETT T. CQX, OF MCKENNEY, VIRGINIA.

ooRN-Haitvns'rna Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1 5,1913.

Application filed Qetober 4, 1911. Serial No. 652,732.

' To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, EMMETT T. COX, a

"citizen of the United States, residing at and it has particular reference to that class of harvesters in which is embodied a carrying truck, cutting apparatus associated therewith in such a manner as to enable an operator or operators standing upon the machine, to gather the corn stalks as they are being severed and to deposit'the same "upon the truck, and a movable bottom or supporting member whereby the load may be quickly and conveniently discharged as the machine moves along.

One object of the invention is to provide supported bottom platform and retracting means for the same, thereby enabling the load to be discharged very Quickly and the bottom or supporting member to be restored part of the operator. Y

A further object of the'invention is to provide a construction whereby the machine when not in use as a corn harvester may be converted into a farm wagon for general use.

WVith these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangen'ient and combinationv of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood. "that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise'structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations andmodificat-ions within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

in Fig. 1. Fig. 5'is a transverse sectional view taken on the line in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a side elevation partly in section, showing the bottom member tilted in the actof discharging a load. Fig. 7 is a perspective detail view showing one of the pivoted socket members and stakes and related parts for retaining the movable bottom member in position. Fig.8 is a perspective view showing the machine converted into a wagon for general use.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference.

The frame of the improved machine includes a pair of sills 1, 1 and a longitudinal center bar 2, said sills and center bar being connected together and spaced apart by means of bolts 3 and spacing members t. The sills and center bar are supported on bolsters 5, 6 mounted upon the front and rear axles 7 and 8, respectively, thefront axle being associated with the truck frame a manner as to facilitate turning, the wheels 10 carried by the front axle being of such height that they will be accommodated beneath the truck frame when the machine is being turned. The wheels 11 upon the rear axle are of relatively sinall diameter so that the body of the truck frame will incline decidedly in a downward and rearward direction. The'runninggear may be of any suitable Well known and approved construction, the details of which are not specifically claimed.

Supported upon the front ends of the sills and center beam is a foot board 12, the front edge of which is connected by braces 13 with a dashboard 14 provided on its rear face with pairs of cleats 15,16 which are suitably spaced apart, the lower ends of the cleats 15 being also secured upon the outer faces of the sills 1, while the lower ends of the cleats 16 are supported upon said sills in spaced relation to the cleats 15.

The sills 1 and the longitudinal center beam 2 are provided on their opposed or proximate faces and adjacent to their lower ed es with longitudinal flanges 17, and at suitable intervals, the said sills and center bar are provided with bearings 18 for shafts "19 carrying. anti-frictioh rollers 20, theperimeters of which project veryslightly above the-flanges 17 for the purpose of suplongitudinal frame bars 21 support the floor mg members 22'and a cross bar 23, which porting the movable bottom member of. the machine without undue friction. The said bottonr member, which is designated by B,-

comprises in its construction four longitudinal. bars 21 which are suitably spaced apart so that two of said bars will fit between each and guided betweenthe sills and center bar,

as nearly without friction as possible i The latter, being located near the rear end of the bottom member, extends'at both sides so as to form stop members 24, the purpose of whichwill hereinafter appear. It will be found desirable to protect the flooring 22 with a covering 25 of sheet metal, not only to protect the flooring from wear, but also to provide a perfectly smooth surface over which the load may be readily discharged.

The dashboard 14 is provided with apertures 26 for the passage of rods 27, the rear ends of which have eyes 28 and the front ends of which are'provided with beads 29 between which and the front face of the dash springs 30 are interposed whereby the rods 27 are projected in a forward direction, as will be readily understood, the forward movement being limited by the eyes 28 contacting With the rearface of the dashboard. A. metallic lining 31 may be provided to reinforce the apertures 26. Flexi ble members, such as chains 32, connectthe front end of the bottom, member B with the eyes 28 of the rods 27, the chains being prefe erably of 'su'ch length as tobe somewhat slack when the bottom member B is at the forward limit of its movement.

Pivotally supported upon the outer faces of the sills 1 adjacent to the rear ends of the latter are socket members 33 in'which i'ipwardly extending stakes 34 are support:

ed. Spring actuated or resilient catch members 35 are provided to engage the socket members 2-33 for the purpose of retaining the latter and the stakes associated therewith normally in an upright position, but it will be seen that by disengaging the catch members, the sockets and the stakes associated therewith at either or both sides of the machine may be tilted until the stakes extend rearwardly from the frame; if desired, to such an extent as to drag upon the ground.

vSuitably associated with the rear axle of the machine are longitudinally slidable rods Pl provided at their rear ends with eyes 37, and at their front ends with heads between which and the rear axle springs 39 are interposed to normally project the rods in a forward direction. The eyes 37 of the rods 313 are connected by flexible members, such as chains 40, with the rear end of the bottom member 13, said chains and spring actuated bolts cooperating with the similar devices at the front end of the bottom member to limit the movement of the said bottom member in a rearward direction. In addition, the springs 30 and 39 serve to sist in projecting the bottom member in a forward direction to restore it to its initial and normal position after the discharge of the load.

Suitably secured upon the outerfaces of the sills 1 of the machine are keepers 41, some of which are provided with vertical apertures 42 for the passage of U-shaped hangers or brackets 4-3, which latter may be vertically adjusted and may be retained atvarious adjustments by set screws 44hr other suitable means. The keepers having the adjustable hangers or brackets 4-3 are situated in rear of the front wheels and in rear of the rear wheels of the machine, and said hangers or brackets serve to sup port the outer ends of the cutter bars 4-5 carrying knives or cutting blades 46, the inner ends of said cutter bars being supported in hangers 47 associated with the front and rear axles, respectively.

lVhcn the machine'is not needed for use as a corn harvester it may be quickly converted into an efiicie'nt and useful farm wagon. or dumpii'ig wagon by simply placing.in position suitable sideboards 48 equipped with stakes 49 to engage the keepers 41 on the faces of the sills. The front ends of the Sideboards are introduced between the cleats 15, 16 upon the dashboard at the front end of the frame, and said Sideboards will there- .by be materially reinforced 'and prevented from spreading. A tailboard or end gate 50 is also provided, the same being suitably connected with the rear endsof the sideboards. preferably in such a manne' as to prevent the latter from spreading. It will thus be seen that by Simply providing suitable sideboards and. an end gate the machine when not needed as a corn harvester may be utilized as a farm wagon for the purpose of haulingmaterial or' produce of all l in l It is also obvious that when thus l.l (!&l,'i'l:t bottom member or platform will be retained in pr'oper position for operation by the stakes or uprights i-l-l engaging the projecting ends or brackets 24; of the cross bar 23. atthe rear end of the platform.

In the operation of this machine as a corn harvester the-operator takes hi stand upon the projecting eml of the knife carrying: cutter bar in rear of the front wheel, the cutting deride adjacent to the rear wheel be ing at the time retracted beneath the plat forih. As the corn stalks are being severed by the knife they are grasped by the opera- 1e there discharged. In order to discharge the in rear of the dash board until half a load has been accumulated. The front cutting device is now retracted, and the rear cutting device is projected to provide astand for the operator who now proceeds with the operation, piling the stalks in front of the stakes or uprights 34 until a load has been accumulated. The load may now be immediately discharged upon the ground, or it may be carried to a place at a distance and load is only necessary to disengage the catches from the sockets 33, thus permit. ting the stakes or uprights 34 to swing or tilt rearwardly. Thestakes being thus moved to a nonbbstructing position with reference to the brackets 2% associated with the platform or bottom member B, the latter will slide or move downwardly upon the rearwardly and downwardly inclined truck frame until the chains or flexible connecting members 32 and 4t and the springs 30 and 39 are placed under tension, the platform being obviously gravity when more than half of its. length is projected rearwardly of the truck tilted by frame. The load will slide freely from the platform on to the ground, and the platform or bottom member will now be started in a forward direction by the action of the springs 30 and 39, the movement being assisted by the operator who, when the platplatform, the other or opposite stake being permitted to trail in a rearward direction, thus obviating the necessity of the operator going from one side of the machine to the other in order to discharge the load. The stakes 3% also constitute skids or guides over which the load will be easily discharged -.vithout danger of becoming tangled.

Nhcn the device is equipped with the sideboards and the end gate to be used as a wagon, the bottom member or platform is retained in position to .constitute the bottom of the wagon bed by means of the upright stakes Bel. To unload the wagon it will be only necessary to remove the end gate and to release theisockets 33 from the catch members 35 whenthe stakes 34: may be tilted to a non-obstructingposition, and the bottom carrying the load will slide downwardly and rearwardly until the pro ecting end is tripped or tilted by the weight of the .load which, will thus be quickly ,and effectively discharged, after which the bottom member will-be restored to its initial position. I

it may be stated that the spring actuated rods 27 and 36 are preferably threaded for the reception of the heads 29'and 38, re-

spectively, which may then be adjusted for the purpose of regulating the tension ofthe springs when desired.

As will be seen from the foregoing descriptlon, taken n connection with the drawings hereto annexed, I have provided a corn harvester of simple and improved construction which may be manufactured at a very moderate'expense and which when not in present use as a harvesting machine may be quickly and inexpensively converted into a durable and useful farm wagon which is, moreover, constructed in such a manner as to permit the load to be dumped.

It is evident that when the device is used as a wagon, the cutting devices are to be de' tached, enabling them to be stored in some place where the blades will be properly pro- 'tected.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is I 1. In a corn harvester, a truck frame including a dashboard, spring projected rods extending through the dashboard and having eyes at their rear ends, a longitudinally slidableplatform supported on said truck frame, and flexible elements connecting the platform with the spring projected rods.

2. In a corn harvester, a downwardly and rearwardly inclined truck frame including side sills, a platform supported slidably upon the truck frame and having a cross bar projecting to form laterally extending brackets, socket members pivoted upon the side sillsand having stakes adapted to extend upwardly in the path of the brackets, and catch means engaging the socket members to retain the same in adjusted position with the stakes directed upwardly.

'- 3. In a corn harvester, an inclined truck frame having anti-friction rollers, a longitudinally slidable platform having laterally extending brackets, pivotally supported obstructing members lying in the path of said brackets, and resilient catches engaging the pivoted obstructing members to retain said members in obstructing position.

4. An inclined truck frame, a platform supported slidablythereon and having laterally. extending brackets, means including retracting springs to limit the movement of the platform. upon the inclined truck frame, pivotally supported obstructing members adapted to lie in the path of the brackets upon the platform, and resilient catch mem bers engaging the pivoted obstructing members to maintain the latter in obstructing position. 7 1 A 5. In a corn harvester, an inclinedtruck frame, a dash beam upon said frame, pairs 01 c] ants secured or; said dash board, a platform slidably supported upon the truck flame, means for seeming said platform in i'eti'acted position, means associated-With the dashboard and including retracting springs. foi li niting the rearward'iiiovement 0f the platform, sideboards pted to be supporied upon the truck frame in engagewent with the pairs of cleats on the dash 10 board, mic an end gate associated with said sideboard-s.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' EMMETT T. COX. Witnesses: H

WM. BAGGER, H. DIT'IMAN. 

